Mustachians: Talk me into cancelling my expensive smartphone service

[Xtal]

I have an HTC Evo.  It's a wonderful little device, and I use it constantly.  However, I'm shoveling money into Sprint's coffers at the rate of $70/month.  That's eight hundred and forty dollars a year!

I know I should cancel it, but it's hard.  I use it all the time, mostly for web browsing and ebook reading.

If I cancel my plan, I would keep the device and just use it with wi-fi. The only problem is, wi-fi is not available everywhere.  I use Google Maps fairly often to look up directions.  I would miss this a lot.

For a phone, I'd probably just get a T-Mobile prepaid plan for $100/year (actually it's less than that after the first year).  Between the landline at my house, and the desk phone at my job, I don't need to use a mobile phone for talking very often.

Please, Mustachians, tell me why I should cancel my phone.  The main thing I'm worried about is not being able to look up directions when I'm on the road (or on my bike).

[Guitarguy]

What if you bought a garmin gps for your car and then switched to the Tmobile plan that you discussed?

[Jamesqf]

Well, it seems that Google is now offering their maps offline: http://maps.google.com/help/maps/starthere/index.html  Only noticed it (coincidentally) this morning, and have no idea of how or how well they work, but it should be worth a look for you.

[Xtal]

What if you bought a garmin gps for your car and then switched to the Tmobile plan that you discussed?

Does the GPS device require any kind of monthly subscription?  I'd like to not incur any new monthly expenses.

[Xtal]

Well, it seems that Google is now offering their maps offline: http://maps.google.com/help/maps/starthere/index.html  Only noticed it (coincidentally) this morning, and have no idea of how or how well they work, but it should be worth a look for you.

Cool!!  I will look into this.

Wish you had a map when your device was offline? With offline maps, you can save and use certain maps when you’re not connected to the Internet. If you have GPS on the device, the blue dot will still work without a data connection so you know where you are. Whether you’re traveling the world or underground, offline maps can help you navigate the offline world.

[grantmeaname]

Have you thought about PlatinumTel (or another sprint MVNO, since it sounds like data will be most of your usage)?

Many GPS devices come with a lifetime subscription now. Even if not, the subscription price would be way cheaper than $70/month.

[Xtal]

Have you thought about PlatinumTel (or another sprint MVNO, since it sounds like data will be most of your usage)?

If I could use my current device on a cheap provider, that would be ideal!  I will definitely look at this one, too.  Thanks.

[zoltani]

I just switched to ting, www.ting.com, and i have been pretty happy so far.  No contract, pay for what you use.  My first month's bill was $50 for two smartphones, very good compared to the fact that I was paying over $100 for two non smartphones from AT&T.

[sol]

I took the slightly less dramatic route of switching from sprint to virgin mobile, for all of the same coverage and benefits for half the price.  They even have iPhones now, for the truly unmustachian who still want to cut costs.

[Daley]

Have you thought about PlatinumTel (or another sprint MVNO, since it sounds like data will be most of your usage)?

If I could use my current device on a cheap provider, that would be ideal!  I will definitely look at this one, too.  Thanks.

If the Evo is out of contract, you have the MSL code for it, your account is in good standing and paid in full, and you don't mind losing your current phone number, likely the easiest thing you could do is just terminate your account with Sprint and then utilize ACRS to bring your device over to Platinumtel. (Maybe check with Germain first to make sure the Evo can be successfully ported.)

At its cheapest, this would give you at least an hour of talk time or 30MB of data (or some combination thereof) to utilize per month for directions outside of hotspots as you need and only be out of pocket about $3.33, and if you need more, it'll scale up. You also wouldn't have to purchase any new equipment or sacrifice much in the way of functionality from what you're used to.

You could still bring your phone and your number over to Platinumtel if you wanted, but it complicates the process a bit (sufficiently so that Sol opted instead for a new device and going with Virgin instead of trying to hoop jump). If you're interested anyway, shoot me a PM.

[AJ]

I did almost the exact thing you are considering. I switched from my $70 a month iPhone to a TMobile prepaid for $100 a year. (see, so close!) And I had the same reservations you do - it wasn't like I never used the thing, I used it near constantly...that was back when they still offered unlimited data :)

I can't say it was the easiest thing I've ever done, but you do get used to it. If you can't find a GPS service that suits you, you can always just Google Map your directions before you leave (yes, planning ahead, like we all did lo those many years ago pre-2006). I do miss instantly being able to google things, or buy an mp3 of a song I like off the radio while still in the car, but there's no way those trivialities are worth the cost difference (to me). I can always download the song or prove my hubby wrong about some piece of trivia when I get home :)

[tannybrown]

Ugh, a guy like that has a data plan?  Data plans are over! 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/210886

[Guitarguy]

What if you bought a garmin gps for your car and then switched to the Tmobile plan that you discussed?

Does the GPS device require any kind of monthly subscription?  I'd like to not incur any new monthly expenses.

Mine is almost 4 years old so I'm not sure if they've changed it, but I bought it for $90ish and haven't paid for any service. Still works like a charm.

[Lex]

Hate to revive an old thread, but instead of buying the Garmin, you could buy a piece of GPS software that runs on your smartphone without the data. A couple of years ago, I installed TomTom on my (Windows Mobile) smartphone. The phone itself is completely outdated - but still used because it runs TomTom.

I'm pretty certain TomTom has an option for US maps as well. You could avoid having to run around with two devices all the time and just focus on one tamagotchi... There should be other packages such as TomTom as well.

Lex

[Sylly]

What if you bought a garmin gps for your car and then switched to the Tmobile plan that you discussed?

Does the GPS device require any kind of monthly subscription?  I'd like to not incur any new monthly expenses.

Mine is almost 4 years old so I'm not sure if they've changed it, but I bought it for $90ish and haven't paid for any service. Still works like a charm.

Looks like there are GPS alternatives using smart phones that may work well for you, but just fyi on the GPS device side..

Some GPS sold come with lifetime subscription of maps and/or traffic (they're separate, make sure it has whichever you care about). An outdated map isn't an issue most of the time, since most roads don't change. You're likely to run into a problem more often if you use the GPS to find point of interest destinations. New businesses might not come up on your search, a museum might have moved (found out the hard way), etc.